Jod was quietly surprised how fast he had accepted his new situation.

  It was the only way for him and his mother to survive, but still, a ragtag group of beast-kin and humans being led by a mushroom?

  This was a story you'd hear from the travelling bards, not experience in reality.

  Jod went to get some breakfast and sat down next to one of the beast-kin. He remembered his name was Uther.

  "Morning, Uther."

  "Morning."

  They had some meat and mushrooms for breakfast, some of the things that were going to spoil fast and thus would not be brought on their journey.

  "What do you think about... all this?" Jod asked.

  "All this? The mushroom, the fleeing, or the humans?" Uther asked.

  "Well, the humans, I guess. I can't imagine it being easy for you to have us here."

  "I do have hatred for humans. But you were cleared by that monstrous queen ant, right? And besides, we beast-kin aren't people who care about outward appearance all that much anyway. As a bear-kin, I am much stronger than most." Uther took a bite of some meat, swallowed, and then pointed towards Toqlan.

  "But that over there is a honu-kin; he is weaker than you humans, but unless someone lops his head off, he isn't ever going to die."

  "Ever?"

  "Yeah, back on our world none of them turtles ever died. Not until your world is invaded, that is. So you and I are less different than I and Toqlan. And even if you'd be fool enough to betray us, that ant would explode your head before you'd do any damage, I bet."

  With that, Uther returned to his meal, and the rest of the breakfast was spent in silence.

  After breakfast, Jod went over to the handcarts and made sure everything was strapped in and secured. After checking everything twice, he went to his mother and made sure everything was okay.

  "Now, son, I've lived most of my life alone; I can take care of myself." She said, in a rebellious but happy tone.

  "I got a lot of worrying to catch up on, Mom." He replied with a smile. She smacked his arm lovingly, and then he went to talk to Taressa.

  "Is everything ready to leave, Taressa?"

  "Momentarily. We are extracting the king's heart."

  Jod looked on as multiple ants went in and out of a large hole in the ground, and soon they lifted out a large rectangular block of dirt. In it were something Jod could only describe as veins. The veins were white with a tint of red to them. On the end of each of the many veins was a smaller, white, threadlike growth.

  "That is the king's heart, I presume?"

  "Yes, the king lives both above and below. This is his below. His above will stay behind."

  "So unless someone kills both, he can't die?" Jod said in a curious tone. Suddenly he felt a pressure as Taressa seemed to be searching for something in his mind.

  "Had I found any hostile intent just now, you would be dead on the spot." Tareesa said matter-of-factly.

  Jod paled. The ant queen would be the de facto leader until Mafu was buried in the next world. He made a mental note to be careful with how he spoke to the queen.

  The ants loaded the heart into a large handcart that had high sides to it, encasing the heart from the sides. On top, the ants draped a blanket of sorts, woven out of plant stalks. Taressa gave Jod the go-ahead to start the journey towards the portal, so he went back to the humans.

  The trip would take a couple of days, assuming there were no hiccups.

  ---

  Four days later.

  Jod stood before the two massive pillars that made up the sides of the portal. They were white marble with inlaid golden spirals. The pillars stood 40 meters apart and reached 40 meters up in the sky. Jod briefly wondered whether the portal had to be a certain size or if it was just the arrogance of Doloran.

  This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

  The portal, 40 by 40 meters large, was different shades of blue and swirled like water being moved about.

  "You are first through the portal, human." Taressa commanded.

  "I do not mind. But why?"

  "If there are enemies, you can deal with them. And I will stay by the king's side until I know it is safe."

  Jod nodded. It was what he wanted as well. He wanted to make sure it was safe before his mother crossed the portal. He stepped forward and was enveloped by the portal. It felt like cold water, and after a few brief moments of nothingness, a world appeared before him. It looked to him like the world was dragged towards him, and suddenly he was standing on a grassy hill with the portal to his back.

  The grass was long and overgrown. No signs of creatures nearby, no sign of any creature being nearby in a while, in fact. Jod inspected the portal on this side and was surprised to find it was some sort of black stone with spiky protrusions at irregular intervals throughout the pillars.

  Same size, though. Jod spent about ten minutes walking around the portal, making sure there were no enemies. He then returned through the portal and gave the all clear to the refugees.

  An hour later, all of them were through. They had a break to drink some water and plan where they were going next. Underneath the grassy hill was a large valley that stretched all the way to the horizon. It was a forested, verdant valley. On its sides there were mountains with high, snowy peaks. Further in the valley, the mountains seemed to be less tall.

  On the other side of the portal, they saw more grassland but little growth. Anyone would rather go toward the forest, and Jod, Toqlan, and Taressa indeed also preferred this option. But they were wary.

  Anyone would prefer the forest, which meant that the creatures that they knew had fought the humans should also be in there.

  And soon, they were proven right. They spotted two of them in the treeline, and two soon became twenty. Two meters tall, muscular, dark grey skin. Two large fangs in their bottom jaw. Their eyes glowed with a pale blue light, much like his blade. As soon as the last creature joined their side, they charged at the refugees.

  Jod activated his [Moonlit Blade] and slashed the air three times. The creature in the front took two of the slashes without reacting at all, but the third cut deep into its waist, and it fell to the ground. Did these monsters not feel pain?

  Taressa and her ants attacked their minds, but nothing happened. The creatures kept charging, and the ants swapped tactics. They rushed the creatures and used their pincers to tear their flesh. Some ants died, but eventually so did the creatures.

  Half an hour later, the last creature fell. Jod sat down and had a sip of water. He could see why the Empire had retreated; he was exhausted after fighting 20 of them. If there were more, they would be in a bit of trouble. Taressa walked up to Jod.

  "They have no minds."

  Jod recoiled at that statement. Even monsters had minds. The only difference between monsters and normal creatures was that monsters had a magic crystal instead of a heart, a relic of the world having "summoned" them instead of them being born.

  "Makes sense that you couldn't attack them then. But in that case, how do they move?" Jod asked.

  "I do not know. They should not exist." Taressa answered honestly.

  Their chat was broken by an arrow whizzing past Jod's right ear, close enough that he felt the tailfeathers on the arrow touch his ear. Jod instinctively stood up in a crouched position and scouted the treeline for the archer.

  "Do not approach the forest. Who are you?" A booming, deep voice commanded. Jod looked at Taressa and then back at Toqlan, who was standing with the non-combatants. He realized he was probably the best to talk to them, so he sheathed his sword and stood up with his hands in the air.

  "I am Jod, and we are refugees fleeing from the other side of the portal."

  "The one talking. Approach."

  Jod walked slowly to the treeline, and there, in the shadows of a large tree, he saw a large figure. It was identical to the creatures they had fought earlier, except this creature's skin was a deep green, with red tattoos over his arms. He carried a large axe, made of a sharp stone connected to a large handle with leather strips.

  "You are human, yes?" The creature asked.

  "Yes."

  "Have you come to invade again?"

  "No. We are refugees, fleeing the oppression on the other side of the portal. We only want to build a village for our group, not invade."

  "You want land?"

  "Yes, but we won't take it from you. We prefer to talk, not fight."

  The large figure gestured to the sword, and with a short chuckle said, "Does that sword help you talk to the Hollow?"

  "The Hollow?" Jod? he asked, confused.

  "The ones like me, with grey skin and no soul."

  "Are they your kin?" Jod asked nervously.

  The creature looked up into the treetops and then said, "No. Maybe once they were. But not now. They are our bane, our plague."

  Jod didn't quite understand what the creature meant just now but decided it was not important for now. As he was about to ask about if they knew any free land they could settle, another creature appeared out of thin air.

  One moment there was nothing, then he was there. The creature Jod had been talking with bowed his head and stepped back.

  "I am Oran, first scout. Are you the leader?"

  This new creature had a massive bow slung across his shoulder, and just from his presence, Jod could tell that he was over level 100. That arrow earlier must have been meant to miss.

  "No, right now the large ant over there is the leader, but normally this group is led by a mushroom."

  Oran looked at him for a couple of seconds, still maintaining a serious and inquisitive look, and then he burst out in a rolling, deep laughter.

  "Come then, Jod, show me to your leader!" Oran grabbed Jod's shoulder and led him out of the treeline. "If you are bold enough to lie that a mushroom and an ant are your leaders, then I deserve to die! If you do not lie, then this story will be valuable around the campfire!"

  Jod felt a little bit relieved after hearing Oran laugh. Maybe these creatures could be negotiated with, and no fighting was necessary.

  As they approached the refugee group, Toqlan and Taressa approached, and together the four of them sat down in a circle.

  The first meeting with the Orcs had begun.